2023 Tampa Poker Classic
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 16
$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Entries: 73
Prize Pool: $24,455
September 15, 2023

Filippos Stavrakis took home the title in the H.E.R.O.S. event tonight after making the final table in the T.O.E. event last night. He took home $6,245 and the SPS guitar pick trophy.

Here is what he had to say after the win. “It’s awesome, it feels great. We talked about it earlier, and after disappointment of busting out in fourth place last night this is redemption this evening.”

He continued, “I just started playing the last couple years after my kids got older, and I’ve been fortunate enough to win a gold bracelet and gold rings at the World Series of Poker.”

Stavrakis has been playing in most of the mixed-game events during the SPS series, and he mentioned his appreciation for seeing an abundance of them on the schedule here at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa. “I love mixed games, I play no-limit a little bit, but mainly I really love these between South Florida and here. You guys at the Hard Rock properties do a great job promoting for the mixed-game players. I love coming down and playing in these events. For real, these are the best, and the mixed-games community loves it,” said Stavrakis.

When he was asked about both his plans to celebrate and future plans for the rest of the series, Stavrakis responded, “I have family in town, so I’m just going to be probably out on the boat if the weather is good. And the then I’ll be back Monday, Tuesday. I’ll be playing whatever the mixed-games events are.”

“Definitely the one I got super lucky against was when I was all-in on seventh street during seven stud, and I basically raised because I had a king in the hole, and he had a king showing, and I didn’t think he had it. I had an ace up, and ended up spiking an ace on the river to stay alive, so that was probably the one that was the path to victory, the path to redemption,” said Stavrakis to close out the interview when asked about the most pivotal hand at the final table.

Final Results:

1st: Filippos Stavrakis – $6,245 + SPS Trophy
2nd: Alexander Orlov  – $6,240
3rd: Greg Osborne – $3,330
4th: Frank Muir – $2,310
5th: Ken Donoghue – $1,680
6th: Larry Miles – $1,280
7th: $1,020 Michael Zacco – $1,020
8th: Amie Martini – $850
9th: Anthony Angerami – $750
10th: Ken Po – $750

$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  40,000/80,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 1 of 73

Filippos Stavrakis and Alexander Orlov decided on a chop to end Event 16 before one hand of heads-up play.

Stavrakis was crowned the winner in the decision, and he took home $6,245 along with the SPS guitar pick trophy. Orlov took home $6,240 as the runner-up since the two were nearly even in chips when the final match was about to begin.

Stay tuned for a winner’s photo and interview with the new champion Stavrakis to be posted a little later.

$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  40,000/80,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 2 of 73

In a hand of Omaha eight-or-better, Greg Osborne was all in with , and it didn’t hold against . The final board read , and Osborne took home $3,330 in prize money for third place. Here is a look at the chip counts for the final two players:

Filippos Stavrakis – 1,190,000 (29 bb)
Alexander Orlov  – 1,000,000 (22 bb)
Greg Osborne – Eliminated in Third Place ($3,330)

$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  40,000/80,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 3 of 73

Frank Muir was all in short during a hand of seven card stud with a pair of nines, but Filippos Stavrakis had him covered holding (). Muir was eliminated in fourth place, good for $2,310, and Stavrakis stacked up 1.65 million after the hand for a massive chip lead in the tournament.

Filippos Stavrakis – 1,650,000 (20 bb)
Frank Muir – Eliminated in Fourth Place ($2,310)

$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  40,000/80,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 5 of 73

During a hand of seven card stud eight-or-better Larry Miles was all in with (6s]), and Alexander Orlov had him covered holding (7h]). Orlov was eliminated in sixth place, and Miles stacked up 525,000 after collecting the pot.

Larry Miles – 525,000 (14 bb)
Alexander Orlov – Eliminated in Sixth Place ($1,280)

$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  30,000/60,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 6 of 73

Michael Zacco was all in with preflop, and Greg Osborne had him covered holding . The final board reads 7c]5h], and Zacco was eliminated in seventh place, good for $1,020. Osborne stacked up 327,000 after collecting the pot.

Greg Osborne – 327,000 (10 bb)
Michael Zacco – Eliminated in Seventh Place ($1,020) 

$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 7 of 73

Here is a look at the recent results from the H.E.R.O.S. event.

8th: Amie Martini – $850
9th: Anthony Angerami – $750
10th: Ken Po – $750

$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 9 of 73

Seat 1: Frank Muir – 530,000
Seat 2: Anthony Angerami – 150,000
Seat 3: Alexander Orlov – 201,000
Seat 4: Filippos Stavrakis – 213,000
Seat 5: Greg Osborne – 132,000
Seat 6: Michael Zacco – 259,000
Seat 7: Amie Martini – 44,000
Seat 8: Larry Miles – 390,000
Seat 9: Ken Donoghue – 118,000

$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Structure
Level 11:  1,500/3,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 40 of 73

Allen Kessler and Amie Martini are two notable players making a run in the HEROS event among the 40 players remaining from 73 entries today.

Kessler holds more than $4.3 million in tournament earnings, and you would be hard-pressed to find a tournament poker player who plays more events in a year than Kessler. He holds four World Series of Poker gold rings, and he has won close to 20 poker tournaments in his career.

Martini was the runner-up in a few nights ago in the Big O tournament, which was good for a $6,500 score. Martini is a cash-games mixed-games specialist, and her career tournament earnings stand above $143,000. Martini has one tournament win to her credit here at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa.

2023 Tampa Poker Classic
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 16
$400 H.E.R.O.S. (Re-Entry)
Entries: 73
Prize Pool: $24,455
September 15, 2023

Registration closed for the $400 H.E.R.O.S. event with a great turnout of 73 entries. An excellent statement on how much Tampa loves their mixed game. The created a prize pool worth $24,455 and the last ten players will make the money; a min-cash worth $750 and the Event 16 champ will earn $7,485.

1st: $7,485 + SPS Trophy
2nd: $5,000
3rd: $3,330
4th: $2,310
5th: $1,680
6th: $1,280
7th: $1,020
8th: $850
9th-10th: $750